There are no violent gangs fighting over aspirin territories. There are no violent gangs fighting over whisky territories or computer territories or anything else that's legal. There are only criminal gangs fighting over territories covering drugs, gambling, prostitution, and other victimless crimes. Making a non-violent activity a crime creates a black market, which attracts criminals and gangs, which turns what was once a relatively harmless activity affecting a small group of people into a widespread epidemic of drug use and gang warfare.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Criminal organizations thrive in illegal markets created by prohibition rather than legal ones.
- In plain terms
- When legal things become illegal, gangs take over and violence increases.
- What can you take from it?
- Prohibition creates black markets that fuel crime and violence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is prohibition working?
- Who benefits from illegality?
Another view
Some legal goods still cause harm and require regulation.
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